Sunday, December 7, 2008

Good Win For CU, Not So Much for NU

The Jays' Booker Woodfox shot lights out on the road vs. St. Joseph's on Saturday. The Huskers couldn't hit the broad side of a barn on the road vs. Arizona St. on Sunday. Jays win. Huskers lose.

First let's talk about the Jays. Booker Woodfox is really all you need to mention after this game. He was ridiculous. Career high 29 points thanks to 7 of 9 from 3! The Jays did not shoot well as a team but they did hit 13 3's (Korver hit 3 of 4). Rebounding wise, CU beat the Hawks glass 37-31 and had a lead as big as 21 points in the 2nd half. Yet, it was the same ole Bluejay team when it came to having the lead in ball games as SJU got the lead down to as low as 8. But unlike Little Rock and Nebraska, Creighton was able to get the big rebounds and hit enough free throws to claim the 69-58 win.

Joe Lundardi - Mr. Bracketology- is the color guy for St. Joe's and called the Jays a tournament team on their broadcast. We'll have to see about that but it's good to get East Coast eyes on the Jays when they play well. Next up is RED HOT Dayton who is undefeated on the year on Wednesday at Qwest Center Omaha. HUGE game for CU and a game they really, really need to win. Should be a ball and CU needs a big crowd so get out! We'll have tickets to giveaway on Monday and Tuesday on the Big Show.

As far as NU goes, I didn't see the game as I had things to do today but by the numbers, it wasn't pretty. The Huskers shot 29% for the game against No. 19 Arizona St. They did hit 8 3's but they killed on the boards 37-25. When you hit only 5 2 point field goals and give up 50% shooting in the 2nd half to a nationally ranked team on the road - the result is a 20 point loss.

NU only had 1 player in double figures and it took Steve Harley 11 shots to get 11 points. The team only had 18 points at half time (30-18 at the break). Scoring and hitting shots is again a major issue for the Huskers. They don't have enough offensive fire power to beat good teams on the road. Their defense looked to be ok in the 1st half but not good in the 2nd. The rest of the non-con is a joke - cupcake city - so the Huskers can lick their wounds until Big 12 play starts.

46 comments:

matt,st joes is not a good basketball team. they will finish 5 or 6 in a bad A10 league. but nebraska played one of the best players in the nation and held him to 6 pts in the first half. arizona state would beat creighton and st joes both by 20.hey how many ranked teams does creighton play this year?quit talking about non-conf.

When you lose to a team then it is a conversation ender. Nebraska beat Creighton this year. Hence, as far as most people are concerned, NU#1 CU#2 this year. Don't bring up P'Allen, or lack of time outs, or Dotzler got fouled ect. Nebraska played TERRIBLY against Creighton and still won. Nebraska played with a lineup predominately of 5'6", 5'11", 6'2", 6'4", and 6'6". If you don't like that Creighton, then beat Nebraska. NUFF SAID.

Matt can't be bothered. He's hoping the Patriots can win a Super Bowl without an *.

On another note. Creighton beats Nebraska in 2007. Matt's response: Creighton is the better team. Nebraska beats Creighton in 2008. Matt's response: Creighton is the better team. You can't have it both ways. Matt flip-flops more than than the politicians from his home state.

How many BCS Conference schools does Creighton play other than Nebraska?

ZERO.

The only way you can make Creighton look better than Nebraska is to compare RPIs I guess. Cause head to head, Nebraska won. And the Huskers actually play BCS conference and ranked schools in the non-conference.

Get over it you big, big baby. Creighton lost to Nebraska. You shouldn't harbor resentment towards Nebraska all year because we beat you in a game that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Secondly, we were playing a Top 20 team on the road who just so happens to have one of the best players in the country right now. Of course we were going to lose! Coming into the game, I thought we would lose by about 10-12 points. With the way we shot, I'm suprised we didn't lose by more. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we are going to struggle against good teams this year, especially on the road. We just don't have the firepower down low. However, there are a lot more games to play, Doc's a good coach, the kids play hard, we are going to see how this thing ends.

That said, Creighton beat St. Joseph's. St. Jo hasn't been relevant for a while now and aren't going to start now, especially when they are dropping games to Holy Cross.

Fact: Arizona State would kill Creighton or anyone else on Creighton's schedule.

I realize that Nebraska's pre-conference schedule isn't all that good. Creighton's isn't much better. However, at the end of the year, I'll bet you a $1,000 that Nebraska's overall schedule is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH harder than Creighton's. Why are you even talking about schedules, Perrault? At the end of the day you still play in the MVC and we in the Big 12. The only thing that really mattered is the game last Saturday night. Nebraska won the game this year. It's over, it's done, get over it. The game doesn't mean a whole lot anyway. You should not worry about Nebraska now and focus on Creighton's run to a possible super MVC championship.

Matt since RPI is so important. Can you please tell me what is Creighton's RPI is and what Nebraska RPI is? Also what is St. Joes record? Arizona State who are they are they in a real conference? I don't know any/thing so I hope Matt can inform me. Looking at the turn out in Tempe ASU knows nothing about basketball either only Creighton does. 1Attendance = basektball knowledge.. Reply for a change douche bag!

Ok- since you are desperate for me to pay attention to you: I would say that ASU doesn't draw well for basketball. 7k on a Sunday? Wow. That's weak. Another showing of CU's fanbase..they had 16,100 for Pine Bluff.

Dayton was 27th in the last AP poll and they haven't lost. They very easily could be ranked by gametime Wednesday.

I know it kills you to admit that P'Allen is a difference maker...but he is. As I said, enjoy the 2 point, home win with the Jays best player benched. Congrats.

This whole debate is rather embarrasing to be blunt about it. Can you imagine a Kansas fan stumbling onto here? Debating which school in Nebraska is better in basketball? They would get a laugh out of it for sure. We might as well go poop on the sidewalk and debate who's turd is prettier. Nebraska had a nice run under Nee getting to the dance several times and did nothing with it. Now Dana has had a good run himself and the Jays have done no better. The reality is neither team has done nothing significant at the national level. Nebraska will finish the non conf schedule strong and then flame out once they start playing real teams in a real conference. The Jays will be the Jays finishing near the top of the Valley, woopty do. Nobody west of Grenta or east of the Bluffs care, move on.

If CU sees the dance, they better win the sweet Mo. Valley; something 11 of the 12 teams in the Big 12 would do with ease if they played in the Valley. (unless of course, they played their worst game of the season which evidently is now a blanket state that dismisses everything.)

"Their defense looked to be ok in the 1st half but not good in the 2nd. The rest of the non-con is a joke - cupcake city - so the Huskers can lick their wounds until Big 12 play starts" - Matt Perrault, Blogger

I'm truly sorry that the win over Creighton hasn't made the Sker basketball fanbase any less bush-league.

And for that matter, for a bunch of fools who profess to despise Matt and say they don't care what he says, you sure do spend a lot of time on here. Maybe you're secretly in love with Matt and you feel this is the only way to express your feelings? Just a guess.

Mel, since you appear to be Matt's knight in shining armor, perhaps YOU could address the tens of questions that went unanswered/ignored in his "Just to Be Clear" posting.

I don't think anyone said, or even implied, that NU's non-conference schedule was difficult. What they/I was getting at however, was that old, don't throw rocks if you live in a glass house axiom. Moreover, even if Nebraska did pad their non-conference schedule, they would be justified since they play a rated team nearly every week during conference play.

So Nebraska lost the 20th most important game on their schedule; so what??

I'm also waiting for Matt to call out ASU fan's as not knowing anything about basketball because in his estimation, the numbers in attendance equates to basketball knowledge. Fraud!!!

I am a season ticket holder to NU basketball. I just do not understand why a large majority of Husker fans ca not admit this, it is only a game people.

Creighton actual has one tourney games.

They get the best in state players, we want them bad, they want them bad and we always lose out.

Oh and then the little fact of how they own us, what is like 7 of the last 9 or 10 to them??

we are one of 2 or 3 bcs schools I believe that have never won a tourney game, do you realize how astronomically pathetic that is??

I will never understand why Husker fans take it so seriosuly like it personally affects them in some way, they are better, oh well. Won't stop me from going to games and enjoying them no matter how bad we are.

Actually the Huskers own Creighton. Huskers lead the series 24-18, after this years win.

Also who was the last good recruit out of Nebraska? Last years Nebraska's high school player of the year went to Iowa State.

Nebraska does not have hardly any Division 1 basketball recruits, the high school basketball in this state is pretty pathetic. So basing who gets the instate recruits on who's the better program isn't a very good tool.

I too am a season ticket holder; now that that little tinkling contest is over, to your points:

First, CU gets the best players in the state?? CU may get the better players from the state, but consider the pool that the two schools have to pick out of from the state, that's like kissing one's own sister. How does this justify prove that CU dominates Nebraska??

While I'm thinking about this, I'm sick of hearing Jays fans say, "yeah, you beat us; but only by two points." So does that count as a win then for Creighton?? Because if so and you use that logic across the board, you would have one less NCAA tournament win because, after all, you only beat Florida by 1 point in 2002 which is the same as losing right?? Idiocy!!

Yes, Nebraska is one of 2 or 3 BCS teams to never win a tourney game. How does this help your cause?? Were you comparing Nebraska to Creighton or were you comparing Nebraska to the rest of the BCS teams in the country when you said "NU isn't even close to being the program that Creighton is??" If we got to play other junior varsity teams year in and year out once conference starts, like Creighton does is the Mo. Valley, we would have had many more chances to get a win in the tourney.

I find it interesting how Jays fans choose to forget the previous 32 meetings between the Jays and Huskers prior to the last 10 years of history that they/you are so quick to note. That statistic is just as dubious as if I was to say, Nebraska is 1-0 in the last 1 meetings.

The fact of the matter is that Huskers are on the rise and the Jays community is nervous and the reason that we take it personally is only in reaction to how the Jays facilitate their fear through angry, unsubstantiated rants hoping that this will somehow force Nebraska back into the door mat role that you knew us as when Barry Collier was here.

Husker program is far being able to say that they are on the rise. That's just a fact. You don't have players coming in that are impact guys and the ones you do have coming in either can qualify or can't stay healthy.

The reason Jays fans bring up the score is that you won by 2, at home and P didn't play. That will get brought up as it did by Coach Brian Gregory of Dayton today on the show. People who know basketball get what happened in that game and at Little Rock.

The Jays have owned NU over the past 10 years and yes, Doc is 2-1...both wins at home. Let's see him win at CU with P playing. Remember the halftime score too - he doesn't get his players ready for these games...they get blitzed in the first half. Luckily for him, NU was at home this year again...thus 2-1. Win at CU and then you can talk.

CU is the better of the 2 programs. That's just a fact. It's not about ALL TIME...but rather who where the programs are at. The Jays have been the NCAA's since I've been here...has NU? Didn't think so.

Matt says, “Husker program is far being able to say that they are on the rise. That's just a fact. You don't have players coming in that are impact guys and the ones you do have coming in either can qualify or can't stay healthy.”

Christian Standhardinger, Vander Joaquim, and Jorge Diaz are all “impact guys”. Have you seen their videos? Standhardinger is one of the best young players in Germany (THE best according to some scouts), Joaquim was an ESPN Top 100 player, and Jorge Diaz is an outstanding player who flat out owned some top American bigs who are playing for big-time programs this year. Now can they qualify? You have a legit point there. I can tell you this, 2 of these 3 are going to qualify. One of them is a little iffy at this point. If we get 2 out of 3, we will be sitting very good in a year or two. McCray, Bear, Richardson, Cookie, those are some pretty promising young guards to build around. I know you have never been to a Nebraska practice, but Niemann (the 7’ German) is turning out to be an absolute steal for us. Plus, Ryan and Sek are back next year. Now are these guys going to take dominate the college basketball world? Of course not. But they do provide a very, very solid base. You add 2 or even 3 of the previous kids, the outlook is very promising. Matt, you have to understand that Nebraska had to live through the Barry Collier era. What Doc has done so far has been nothing short of amazing. Now Doc is too the point where he will either plateau out or he will get a few difference makers and take it to another level. Right now, he has a hook in a few difference makers, he just needs to get them on the boat. Sooner or later, he’s going to land one…and chances are he’s going to land at least 2 of them this year. How can you not say Nebraska is on the rise? 4 years ago we would be lucky to win a conference game or two.

Matt says, “The Jays have owned NU over the past 10 years and yes, Doc is 2-1...both wins at home. Let's see him win at CU with P playing. Remember the halftime score too - he doesn't get his players ready for these games...they get blitzed in the first half.”

Or you could say Doc Sadler made the correct adjustments at halftime and outcoached Dana Altman in the 2nd half. That’s what good coaches do, they make the necessary adjustments to win the game. I think Nebraska and Creighton are currently about the same level. Home court advantage is huge when we play because the two teams are about equal in terms of talent. 2 years ago, Creighton was a better team than Nebraska yet Nebraska won because the game was played in Lincoln. Last year, Nebraska was the better team but Creighton won the game because it was in Omaha. This year, Nebraska won the game because it was played in Lincoln. Who will be the better team over the course of the season? That remains to be seen, there is a lot of season left.

Matt says, “CU is the better of the 2 programs. That's just a fact. It's not about ALL TIME...but rather who where the programs are at. The Jays have been the NCAA's since I've been here...has NU? Didn't think so.”

Matt, life does not stop and start at your convenience. The world does not revolve around the timeline of your existence.

Yet when comes to the arguement of Jays vs. NU basketball...I'm right when I say that CU is the far better of the 2 programs.

Get all your players qualified and actually find a few that are coming from High School ball in the states...then I'll be impressed with the recruits you've got coming in. Keep 'em healthy while your at it.

doesn't matt get mad about creighton fans being called out (he even tried to say people were calling creighton fans 'gay' for the cars they drive, clothes they wear and drinks they consume) and didn't he try to say how some of the people who say such things are small minded? then he makes comments about nebraska recruiting players who are not from the US??? those players don't count i guess. should we put a ban on all immigrant players regardless of their status? sasha kaun was a foreign born player and he now has a national championship ring, let's take it away and send him back to russia!!! wait a second, he IS IN RUSSIA right now playing basketball and making a million dollars a year with the possibility of coming back to the US to play in the NBA. shame on bill self for recruiting him and developing his talent.

nebraska is not known for basketball, doc sadler has to recruit the best talent he can find and he may have to look outside the US to do it since kids who are 6'10 and taller have their choice of more recognized schools. if doc only had to compete in the MVC he would not have to go to such lengths to find talent. however, doc has to play 16 regular season big XII games and you can't take lower level talent into the conference games and expect to win. dana does not have to compete at the same level as nebraska.

here is an alert for all parties interested in the dayton vs. creighton game. dayton has two players (Charles Little and Stephen Thomas) who will probably not play tonight. hopefully dayton loses by two so their fans can call it a win since they only lost by two points on the road with two players out.

one more thing, matt says that "people who know basketball get what happened in that game (Nebraska) and at arkansas little rock". i "get basketball" and the fact is creighton got beat on the road by teams they are supposedly better than. i don't care if P'allen played or not, nebraska had players not able to play due to injury. arkansas little rock beat creighton fair and square, the only thing to "get" is that this bluejay team is young, inexperienced, prone to giving up leads, unable to rebound very well and seemingly dependent upon one player completely going off for about 25+ points to win games. that is not what i consider to be team basketball when you are so inadequate in so many areas and rely on one guy saving your ass. i don't "get" it, help me out.

I find it funny that you despise Nebraska basketball(which is fine) but then go hypocritical and have the Oregon St. coach on your show just because it is Obama's bro-in-law. But I expected nothing less than a complete flip flop from someone from the same state that reps John Kerry.

Matt says: "CU is the better of the 2 programs. That's just a fact. It's not about ALL TIME...but rather who where the programs are at. The Jays have been the NCAA's since I've been here...has NU? Didn't think so."

Matt just saying something is a fact doesn't make it so. Moreover, looking at this paragraph, you've discounted the all time meetings between CU and NU, contended that this is all about where the two programs are CURRENTLY at, and then supported your claim by saying the proof in this is that CU has been to more NCAA tournaments in the recent past. You're making me dizzy with your perpetual flip flops.

Good luck tonight Creighton versus the toughest team on your whole schedule.

Matt. I would not trade Brandon Richardson for Antoine Young. I would not trade Toney McCray for Casey Harriman. I would not trade Sek Henry for Josh Jones. This case about Nebraska recruits is ludicrious. I would not trade Josh Dotzler for Cookie Miller. Lets face it, the Erik Stricklands and Venson Hamiltons are few and far between.

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About Me

Sports talk show host. Born and raised in Andover, MA. UMass Amherst Grad. Has worked in radio in Charlottesville, Huntsville (AL), Omaha, Des Moines, Boston and Manchester (NH). Lover of interesting music, good whiskey, craft beers, indie movies, Chopped, and House of Cards. Has covered Creighton basketball since 2005.